Difficult family conversations made easy

53% of South Africans feel uncomfortable discussing financial planning, particularly in relation to death and the loss of loved ones, according to a recent 1Life Insurance survey. However, 73% believe that having these discussions will benefit them and their families. You can start talking about sensitive financial topics by talking about your 1Life policies. Here’s where to begin.

Talking about death and money

Family, even young children, worry about what happens to them if a parent and/or provider passes away. Death may be a sensitive subject, but talking about it and sharing plans for what happens after a loved one passes away will give family members peace of mind.

When you start this conversation by telling loved ones about your insurance policies, you introduce the topic in an objective way by dealing with practical matters. You can share what your policy covers and how you would like the policy pay-out to be used. This is an opportunity to tell your family that you have taken measures to provide for them when you are no longer around and that they won’t be left without funds when you pass on. This also opens the door to conversations about other difficult topics such as debt and your will.

Talking about debt

One of the many reasons people take out life insurance is to ensure their debts are paid when they pass on. When talking about your life insurance policy, you can bring debt into the conversation and talk about how your pay-out can be used to pay off a debt, such as a home loan or vehicle finance.

You can also use this as an opportunity to talk about using debt responsibly, such as ensuring you can afford repayments. This conversation can help your family use debt wisely in future and demystify the shame that is often associated with talking about debt.

Talking about your will

Life insurance that pays a valid claim to a beneficiary does not form part of your estate. However, assets such as a home and most investments do form part of your estate. What happens to these when you pass away is detailed in your will. You can use a conversation about life cover to let your family know you have a will, what the will says, such as who inherits your assets, and where you store it.

Top tip: Get or update your will today with Truth About Money’s Wills and Estate Benefit. Truth About Money is a 1Life Insurance initiative.

Talking about how much is spent on funerals

Funerals are becoming more and more expensive and can easily burden loved ones with debt. If you want to ensure your loved ones don’t take on debt when planning your funeral service, you can start the conversation by talking to them about your funeral policy and how much it will pay out, also explaining that the payout, and only the payout, should be used for funeral costs.

 You can also talk about what your funeral service could include, where you want to be buried, and a memorial headstone, emphasising that these can be covered by the policy payout and won’t require extra funds.

Top tip: read more about how much a funeral could cost you in 2025 in this blog to ensure your current plan can cover the costs of the type of send-off you want.

The cost of celebrations and special occasions

Funerals are not the only special occasion to come with a hefty price tag! Matric balls, weddings, birthdays and anniversaries can all cost more than you can afford. While the dream celebration is wonderful, it can put families into financial distress, and the price tag may not be worth it in the long run. You can use the topic of funeral costs to introduce the topic of the cost of these special events. You may even encourage additional savings for them.

Call a family meeting today!

Discussing sensitive topics can be uncomfortable at first, but take the plunge and have the difficult conversations with your loved ones. It might be tough going at first, but it will get easier and will bring your family closer together in more than just one way.